5 Things You Need to Know About Chorizo

by Kerry Acker

on 04/23/14 at 05:35 PM

Let's get this out of the way: Chorizo is sausage. Sausage is delicious.

Now that we've got that straight, let's talk more specifics about chorizo. Just about everyone loves chorizo (right?), but navigating the different types of chorizo, and figuring out how and when to use which types of chorizo, is a whole 'nother story.

Here, 5 things to know about chorizo:

1. Chorizo is a highly seasoned chopped or ground pork sausage used in Spanish and Mexican cuisine.

2. Mexican chorizo is made with fresh (raw, uncooked) pork, while the Spanish version is usually smoked.

3. Mexican chorizo is typically seasoned with vinegar and chile peppers, while Spanish chorizo is made with garlic and pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika, either sweet or hot), which gives it its deep brick-red color and smoky flavor. (Authentic Spanish, deeply smoky and tangy chorizo is a revelation--but there's also nothing like a spicy, beautifully greasy-in-the-best-way chorizo taco.)

4. In the United States, Spanish chorizo is available in two different forms: fully cooked and dry (to be sliced like salami/pepperoni), and fully cooked and soft (semicured). LaTienda.com sells both versions (in hot and mild varieties).

5. Mexican chorizo and Spanish chorizo impart very different flavors--and behave differently--so they aren't interchangeable in recipes, people. According to culinary expert Anya von Bremzen's New Spanish Table, "While you shouldn't substitute fresh chorizo for semi-cured, dry chorizo can be used in its place if this all you can locate."